Jung Park, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
“North Korea can ease border blockade within weeks”
A high-ranking U.S. official has analyzed that the illegal profits North Korea made last year through crimes of stealing virtual currency (cryptocurrency) approached 1 trillion won.
According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 1st (local time), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Park Jeong held a video conference with the US cryptocurrency information company TRM Labs on the theme of “North Korea’s cyber activities.” mentioned like this.
Deputy Assistant Minister Park said, “The UN expert panel and various industry reports believe that North Korea stole $2.3 billion (about 3.173 trillion won) from 2017 to last year.” We estimate that more than $20 million (approximately 944.4 billion won) was stolen.”
“The cyber sector is a new frontier for North Korea as sanctions against North Korea are effective in dispatching overseas workers in the fields of construction, agriculture, and medicine and blocking attempts to generate profits through illegal activities,” he said.
He also emphasized the need for cooperation with China and Russia to prevent North Korea’s illegal activities in the cyber field.
Deputy Assistant Minister Park said, “A lot of (cyber) activity is taking place in China and Russia.” The more North Korea believes it is protected by China or Russia, the more it will continue to engage in malicious activities and develop illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”
It was also concerned that people working for the North Korean regime were using fake identities around the world to generate revenue.
Deputy Assistant Minister Park said, “Apart from cyber theft, we are also very concerned about IT personnel, who are rapidly becoming an important source of illegal profits for the North Korean regime.” Working as a freelancer in an organization, I am earning money for the regime.”
“In the coming months or weeks, North Korea may be able to ease the border (blockade),” he said. did.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.